The Las Vegas Raiders hired Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator on Tuesday, and the players seemed very happy with the addition.
The Las Vegas Raiders added their defensive coordinator on Tuesday, hiring Gus Bradley away from division rival Los Angeles. Bradley was widely considered a favorite for the position, and has a history with head coach Jon Gruden, and will now be tasked with turning around a porous defense.
Last season, the Raiders had an offense that kept them in games, only to see the defense continue to let them down. As they head into the 2021 offseason, a lot of attention will be paid to the defensive side of the ball, and Bradley is certain to have some say in terms of what players they want to bring in.
On Tuesday, after the hiring was announced, members of the Silver and Black hit Twitter to discuss their feelings on their new defensive coordinator.
Raiders players react to the hiring on Social Media
https://twitter.com/MullenIsland1/status/1349052823993004039
Trayvon Mullen is a big part of the Raiders secondary, and with Bradley’s experience building the Legion of Boom, he will gain a lot from playing under him.
https://twitter.com/CrosbyMaxx/status/1349050302025117696
It is safe to say that Maxx Crosby felt the hire was lit.
Welcome to Las Vegas, Coach.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) January 12, 2021
We have hired Gus Bradley as our defensive coordinator » https://t.co/8xRvXKpKnH pic.twitter.com/trpr74atDI
Fellow third-year edge rusher did not say much, but he did like the tweet the Raiders put out in regards to the hiring.
Welcome ☠️ https://t.co/zdcaskxx8f
— Maurice Hurst Jr (@mohurstjr) January 12, 2021
Young defensive tackle welcomed the new coach to the mix as well.
Bradley has a tall task ahead of him, as the organization has used plenty of assets to fix that side of the ball, but nothing has worked up until this point. If they can get even a middle-of-the-road defense in 2021, they should be able to make some noise, especially with how well the offense did this past season.
The Raiders will be entering their fourth season with Jon Gruden at the helm in 2021, and hopefully, the change on the defensive side of the ball will do them some good. The staff is already rounding out, as Rod Marinelli will be back to coach the defensive line, Richard Smith is coming in to work with the linebackers, and Ron Milus to coach the defensive backs.
All told, there should be some excitement behind this hire, and it appears those coming back in 2021 on defense are excited about it too.